Critic Reviews

In all, Vampire delivers what few computer RPGs ever could: an engaging story, wonderful graphics and even a full editor. Don't let the vampire angle scare you away from this title. (If however you like vampires, you will be in heaven.) This is THE RPG that most of us have been waiting to play for years. It earns a perfect 5 GiN Gem score, because it is simply the best in its category, and probably will be for some time.

For the most part I can see no flaws in this game. It has a few bugs that a patch needs to be instituted for, but what game doesn’t these days. It’s the most bug free single player game that I’ve run into in quite a long time. The multiplayer seems to be where most of the issues lie, but it doesn’t crash on me and I don’t have to pull my hair out that I can’t save a game or beat certain areas. It seems to me that the gaming public has been waiting a long long time for a game like this to come out, and we’ve finally received our wish. Now the only question is, where do we go from here? If you pick up a copy of this fine game then you can only imagine.

As long as you don't come to Vampire with the wrong expectations, you are unlikely to find a more challenging, rewarding or gorgeous RPG. The Masquerade world is so engrossing that you don't want to leave it, its shapes and contours so exquisite you can't keep your eyes off it, its battles so demanding you can't stop rising to the challenge, its dark vampiric powers so alluring you are hypnotised and vulnerable, lost in a trance as it drains your life away. Soon, you too will look like us. Pale, bleary-eyed, afraid of the sunlight, your teeth aching with an insatiable hunger for more.

Redemption has a great premise and an ambitious design, but the game is mired by its repetitive and often frustrating combat, and poor controls. Regardless, the future patch aims to adjust most of these issues, and even in it's current state, the game is worth the money. It has plenty of gameplay, and provides a very intriguing story line. The game redefines the RPG genre and is worthy of anyone's software collection.

The subtitle of Vampire: The Masquerade is Redemption, a major theme in the story of a former holy warrior who is cast into a never-ending night. But redemption is just as good a word to describe the patched version of this game. Whether the absence of these features in the original release was a result of a rush to get the game to market or just a horrible oversight, I don't know. Neither one is a very good excuse. But seldom do game designers go as far to fix a game as Nihilistic went in patching Vampire: The Masquerade. By fixing two of the biggest problems, they breathed new life into a game that had disappointed a lot of people. Where there was mostly frustration before, there is now more room for fun and creativity.

Bottom Line: Based upon the White Wolf pen-and-paper role playing system, Vampire: The Masquerade features nice graphics and an excellent storyline. The interface is laid out well, but AI and pathing are very poor. The save game mechanism is almost non-existent and more than not you will use the game mechanics to force an autosave when you want to exit the game. Multiplayer has decent potential, but the proper tools are not there yet.

So is Vampire: The Masquerade - Redemption a Renaissance for computer RPGs? The solo game probably isn't. While entertaining enough, it's little more than a hack-and-slash adventure with a unique premise. The multiplayer game is plenty innovative, however, and with luck it may forge a future path for computer role-playing games to explore.

There's no denying the overall premise of Vampire: The Masquerade - Redemption, it has an almost insatiable appeal. It's by far the best game about Vampires ever made, and Nihilistic has done the White Wolf license proud. The question remains however, can deep characters, a great story, wonderful atmosphere and exquisite graphics overcome a flawed interface and horrible artificial intelligence to make a great game? Not quite, but it still makes for a darn good one. In the end, despite any and all of the problems, Vampire: The Masquerade - Redemption is still a fine offering and one of the best old-school RPGs released in a long time. Its multiplayer component has as much or more potential than any title ever released, and I'm sure over time its appeal will only gain the product favor.

Altogether, if you are looking for a game to keep you entertained for a considerable period of time, I would definitely recommend buying Redemption. The game's pros vastly outweigh the cons and it's available for a very reasonable price due to its age. Who can deny the entertainment value of playing an immortal vampire?

My final conclusion would be that if you are the type that finds Vampire’s concept interesting, you will probably enjoy it. It may not be a great choice for a fan of twitch games, but all of my friends who have seen it have liked it. Add in the fact that MacSoft has priced Vampire quite reasonably, and any adventure or RPG fan has little to lose by trying it.

Redemption has none of that. In gameplay, it's a poor man's Diablo or Final Fantasy, without either games' redeeming features. The plot and action are all linear, without the possibility of any deviation or even sidequests. The linearity is even more strict than in those games or Planescape: Torment, but unlike Final Fantasy or Torment, Redemption doesn't take advantage of this. Usually the question of linearity vs. free-form is only a question because with a linear game, the story, the characters and indeed, game balance can be better controlled. Redemption is just straight hack and slash for 3 or 4 dungeon levels, followed by a puzzle, or, more often, a boss. The combat isn't even all that great due to the terrible party AI, who are too frivolous with spending blood and bad judgement in general.

With Activision's patch, Vampire provides a reasonable entry point for those wanting to experience the RPG genre. The story is interesting and there is a certain amount of satisfaction that comes from learning to play with a group of characters. However, the mythology is a bit hard to follow and, as the old adage goes, "when you've cleared one dungeon, you've cleared them all." For those new to RPGs, the art of hack-and-slash may be greatly refined through the use of a strategy guide. For those who are truly action-challenged, several web sites have cheat codes to give your characters a preliminary boost and increase their odds of survival. Despite the single-player limitations, I believe that Vampire will ultimately shine in the multi-player environment. As the kinks are worked out and Story-Tellers build their skills, this game has the potential of providing an unprecedented peek into the World of Darkness.

So, if you like a great story (and especially if you like a great vampire story), definitely give this game a try. The single-player adventure is delightful, and there is real potential for the multiplayer game.

Vampire has plenty of moments of pure brilliance, and with some of the patching promised in the coming weeks, the gameplay is already looking up. But overall the game just doesn't provide you with the quick action fun of Diablo, or the in-depth entertainment of Baldur's Gate. It's definitely a hybrid, but a hybrid that doesn't quite succeed on either level.

Coming from Jedi Knight co-designer Ray Gresko, Vampire is simultaneously satisfying and disappointing. Aside from the multiplayer, it exudes possibilities and then throws them away. When it works, it sucks you right in, and when it doesn't you just end up slogging through, expecting the good stuff around the next corner. Most of the time, though, there's nothing there.

Personally, I prefer this over Diablo II (which I have just started to play), even though the storyline is linear. I cannot pass an absolutely good or bad judgment on the game yet, because I am more of a multiplayer person than singleplayer, but I would give Vampire a score of 6.5 of 10 for its singleplayer mode. And I have a feeling that when the official SDK is out, the score will go up, as this module is definitely a breakthrough for RPG gamers.

I have loved vampires and the vampire genre for many years now, and I really wanted to like this game, but in the end it turns into a straight line, straight through, no imagination disappointment. If you are a true vampire fan and will try anything once, give this game a go. If you are a little more discerning, there are other options out there that you will find far more rewarding.

The story is told well, introduces White Wolf’s take on the world of vampires very well, and generally keeps you engaged and interested in how it all ends. The gameplay does its best to sabotage that as often as it can. Party AI can handle itself in a fight, but not without getting in your way. The combat system is pretty simplistic, with no random loot to spice up the hundreds of battles you’ll click through. The interface frequently stumbles and prevents anything resembling tactics. Redemption is functional enough to wade through the frustrations, but Bloodlines does a better job of mixing great story with enjoyable gameplay.

You've probably realised by now that I am bitterly disappointed with Vampire. I had really hoped for so much more - the concept after all has staggering potential, but Nihilistic haven't capitalized in the way they should have. The weak cutscenes, poor combat system and somewhat redundant spell system don't help its cause, and the game falls far short of what it could have been.

If you're crazy about vampires, then the depth, replayability and sheer ambitiousness of this game will make it worth your time and (probably) money. Of, if you have a great system you'd like to show off to your friends, Vampire: The Masquerade - Redemption can probably replace Deus Ex and Unreal Tournament for that "wow factor." If, however, you just enjoy a good RPG with some nice action, a coherent story, and characters you can actually care about, it'd probably be best to look elsewhere and leave the vampire stories to...uh...Jim Carrey?

VAMPIRE: THE MASQUERADE—REDEMPTION is one of the stupidest, most disappointing computer games that I’ve ever played. All of the license’s promise has been completely wasted in a haze of poor scripting, community-theatre voice acting, and idiotic design decisions. Call Bully Summers, polish up that crucifix, sharpen a few stakes, get thee to a nunnery — avoid this one by any means necessary.